Ang Lee has cast unknown Delhi high schooler Suraj Sharma in his 3D adaptation of Yann Martel’s novel Life Of Pi .

The Brokeback Mountain director, whose last film was 2009’s Taking Woodstock , announced that Sharma will make his on-screen debut as Pi Patel, a teenager who is stranded on a lifeboat with a zebra, hyena, tiger and orang-utan.

Lee has been working on the film since last year, having taken the reins after both M. Night Shyamalan and Alfonso Cuarón showed fleeting interest in the project - “we had to figure out how to make a movie about surviving on the ocean without Tom Hanks,” he jokes to USA Today .

The newspaper reports that Lee will be working with a budget of above $50m, and is excited at the prospect of using 3D as a storytelling device – in particular with regard to the ocean, saying “I think it will change the way people experience the sea”.

“It's expensive to shoot in 3D,” Lee adds. “I know it's a great burden on me, but the story kept haunting me, and 3D was the way for me to crack the book.”

Expect 3D re-releases of Brokeback, Lust, Caution and Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon to get the fast track if this does well…